Saturday at 3:30 pm the Tar Heels will host the Hurricanes. North Carolina and Miami have met every season since the Hurricanes joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004. UNC improved to 12-10 all-time against Miami with a 62-26 victory in the regular-season finale last year in south Florida.
About UNC
- The Tar Heels lost for the first time in four home outings, 35-25, to Florida State despite two touchdown passes and 108 yards rushing from quarterback Sam Howell. Josh Downs, who hauled in a 33-yard pass for the game’s first touchdown, has caught at least one touchdown pass in every game this season.
- North Carolina ranks fourth in the ACC with 486.0 yards of total offense per game. The Tar Heels exceeded 600 yards in back-to-back games against Georgia State and Virginia.
- The Tar Heels are averaging 548.3 yards per game at home – 607 yards against Georgia State, 699 against Virginia, 456 against Duke and 432 against Florida State.
- UNC has compiled an ACC-leading 956 rushing yards at home, an average of 239 yards on the ground per game.
- Carolina is third in the ACC by limiting opponents to only 203.4 passing yards per game. UNC has allowed less than 200 passing yards in five of six games, the outlier was the 553
surrendered in the win over Virginia.
- Carolina leads the ACC and is tied for fourth nationally with six plays of 60 or more yards.
- Carolina sits third in the ACC with 291.8 yards per game through the air. UNC’s 17 TD passes also is third in the league, with 16 coming from Sam Howell.
- Howell is the third UNC QB to ever have back-to-back 400-yard total offense games, joining
Marquise WIlliams (Notre Dame and Georgia Tech in 2014) and Mitch Trubisky (James Madison and Pitt in 2016).
- Sam Howell became the first Carolina QB to ever have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games, and only the third to do it twice at all.
- Sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs has been Sam Howell’s favorite target each of the first four weeks of the 2021 season. Downs leads the ACC in receptions (49) and receiving yards (741) All three figures rank top10 in the nation.
- Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler ranks sixth in the ACC with 80.7 rushing yards per game and is tied for sixth with five rushing touchdowns.
- Carolina already has seven takeaways on defense through six games in 2021. The Tar Heels are more than halfway to the 11 turnovers they created in 2020. Ja’Qurious Conley has a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery. Power Echols has a pick and Desmond Evans has scooped up one fumble. Cam’Ron Kelly had an interception against Duke and Trey Morrison scooped and scored from 63 yards out against the Blue Devils.
About Miami
- The Miami Hurricanes play their first road game of the season on Oct. 16, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a clash with ACC Coastal foe North Carolina at Kenan Stadium. The Hurricanes opened the season with a neutral site game followed by four straight home games and an open date.
- The Miami Hurricanes return 19 of 22 starters from a 2020 team that finished 8-3 overall and 7-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Canes, who ended the year in the 2020 Cheez-It Bowl, became the third Miami team to win seven games in ACC play since joining the conference in 2004.
- On Oct. 11, head coach Manny Diaz announced starting QB D’Eriq King would miss the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery resulting from an injury versus Michigan State. In his first season as starting quarterback, King finished with 2,686 passing yards, 538 rushing yards and 27 total TDs.
- Last time out against Virginia (Sept. 30), Miami fell, 30-28, at Hard Rock Stadium. Making the second start of his collegiate career in place of King, QB Tyler Van Dyke a threw for 203 yards and one touchdown, while RB Cam’Ron Harris rushed for a season-high 111 yards and two scores.
- Miami boasted three of the top-rated wide receivers in the Class of 2021: Romello Brinson, Jacolby George and Brashard Smith. All three freshmen scored TDs in Miami’s win over Central Conn. State. The trio of wide receivers has been nicknamed the ‘Three Amigos’ – the three are close friends and live together with QB Jake Garcia. The trio combined for nine catches, 160 yards and three TDs vs. CCSU.
- The University of Miami entered the 2021 season with one of the nation’s most experienced offensive lines in the nation. UM’s 179 combined FBS OL starts are the second-most, trailing only Minnesota (200). The Hurricanes’ offensive line features 10 players who have made at least one start at the FBS level.\
- One of Miami’s top defenders last season was S Bubba Bolden, who started eight of 11 games and led the Hurricanes with 74 tackles at the end of the year. Bolden was named to the 2020 All-ACC Second Team. Through four games, Bolden ranks first in total tackles (26) and has 2.5 tackles for loss and two PBUs.
UNC vs Miami
Carolina is 6-3 at home against the Hurricanes, including a thrilling 28-25 win in 2019.
Perhaps the most famous meeting in the series at Kenan was UNC’s 31-28 upset of fourthranked Miami on Oct. 30, 2004. Conner Barth kicked a 42-yard field goal on the final play to register the highest ranked win in Carolina program history.
UM is looking to snap a slide of back-to-back losses to the Tar Heels, who won, 62-26, at Hard Rock Stadium in 2020 and 28-25 in Chapel Hill in 2019.
Mack Brown is 2-0 against Miami with wins coming in 2019, a 28-25 victory in Chapel Hill,
and last year’s 62-26 thumping in Miami Gardens, Fla.
How to Watch
Television: ACCN
Stream:WatchESPN
On-Air Time: 3:30 p.m.
Announcers: Wes Durham, play-by-play; Roddy Jones, analyst; Alex Chappel, sideline analyst; Kris Budden, sideline